Hello! After a year of being 'normal weight,' I finally feel like maybe I've earned the right to call myself a maintainer - so here I am!

I was slender growing up, only to find myself gaining 50 lbs. with my first pregnancy at 22 years old. Two more babies after that and little time for myself had me eventually reaching an unbelievable (to me) high of 186. My health got scary-bad, and I felt like my life would never get better - that scared me a lot, being ready to call it at the age of 44.

I'd made several half-hearted attempts to lose weight during the previous couple decades; 12 years ago I actually got down to 131, the lowest I'd been for nearly 10 years, before rebounding to a higher weight than I'd ever been. Then a couple years ago, a bad cold put me to bed for two days and I dropped 6 lbs. I thought it'd be cool to keep that off and maybe even build on the loss - and it worked! Following the principles of SBD, focusing on whole foods and portion control, and keeping my body moving had the extra weight shedding at a steady clip.

I'm pretty happy at my current weight and health. It's wonderful that my reflection shows me the person I expect to see, instead of the overweight stranger that looked back at me for years. I used to be so embarrassed by my appearance that I wanted to hide away at home; now I enjoy dressing up a bit and going out with family and friends. And photos? Please, take mine!

Maintaining has been surprisingly easy for the most part, and I think it's because this time I lost weight to feel better, both physically and mentally. Before I eat anything, my question to myself is "how will this make me feel?" Fortunately I've developed a taste for vegetables at long last; now I crave broccoli and green beans, things I used to avoid like the plague!

I try to walk at least a mile most days of the week, I aim for 2 or 3 at-home strength workouts per week, and I like to get some yoga in as often as possible. Exercise makes me feel strong and vital, and the muscles are a definite plus.

My concern for the future is that I hold onto the positive mindset I've been working on for the past 2 years and keep focused on maintaining the health I've got now. Logging in here to 3FCs is a very important tool to me in that regard. I'm aiming to beat the odds and be a long-term maintainer - for the rest of my life. Lurking on this thread for the sage advice of you chicks has been very helpful, so thank you for sharing!